China Grove police chief quits after DWI arrest

Updated 10:02 pm, Thursday, July 10, 2014

SAN ANTONIO — China Grove Police Chief Larry Davis was arrested on a DWI charge in Central Texas while he was driving his marked patrol vehicle last month, the Temple Police Department confirmed Thursday.

Davis was arrested at 1:09 p.m. June 22 on a Temple city street after police received a call reporting a reckless driver in the area, according to a Temple police spokesman.

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Davis' departure leaves China Grove with just one city law enforcement official, Officer John Jenkins.

A seven-year veteran of the China Grove Police Department, Davis, 63, had just been reinstated as police chief in April after a year of bickering between City Council and the Police Department that saw the department shut down and reopened several times.

It appears Davis tendered his resignation in a letter dated the same day as his arrest. The resignation didn't become public until July 3, however, when City Council accepted it during council's regular monthly meeting.

The letter gave no reason for his departure and no reason was given at the meeting. Davis was not at the meeting and has not returned numerous phone calls.

The city-issued Tahoe driven by Davis at the time of his arrest was released to Jenkins, who traveled to Temple to pick it up, the Temple police spokesman said.

China Grove City Council has shut down and revived the Police Department several times since December, complaining about a backlog of hundreds of unserved warrants. Davis had repeatedly asked for more officers to handle the backlog.

In April, Davis was rehired as chief and he and Jenkins have been issuing tickets and working on the backlog.